Discussions By Condition: Liver conditions

last stage liver failure

Hello, I am just trying to find some information on how long a person can live with last stages of liver failure,my brother who is only 41 years old had to be put into a nursing home due to liver failure,some days he seems to being doing better and other days he just wants to sleep,he has been in nursing home for 3 weeks now and I just would like a little information from someone that has been through this before,is there any chance that he can live for a year or so without a transplant? Or are just talking about a few months? Any insight would really help me out...thanks for your time!Sandy

I was diagnosed with liver failure due to cerrhosis in Sept. 2003(combining tylenol with alcohol over the years was not smart) ... I am still alive, though take diuretics 2 times a day, and cannot have more then 67 ounces of fluid a day, and NO MORE than 2000 mg. sodium/day. No more drinks. No more drugs, unless under the doctors prescription. My cerrhosis has turned to a mere fibrosis, and it's all because I watch everything I put into my body. Milk Thistle is a great herb to help heal the liver. People can survive, but noone can tell me for how long...Best of luck to everyone...May God Bless you guys!!!

Helloi m so sorry to telling you that when the liver fails then the patient go to Coma and this is the last stage of the person nd he ll b live not more than two weeks, recently my father died due to Stage 4 Cerrhosis of liver

Please do not listen to these estimates, because theat is just what they are, either educated or uneducated guesses. Everyone's body is different. Some people can pull through and live quite awhile, while others cannot. Do not out 5 weeks or 5 months into your mind. Just see how it goes. Someone posted Milk Thistle andI have also heard that does wonders for liver damage but ALWAYS, ALWAYS ask the doctor before combining any herb or vitamin with current med.'s. Be Strong...... Beth

I agree, dont even think about how long before someone MIGHT die.I agree with the bloke taking Milk thistle and is still alive. A change in diet and life style can make a considerable change.I would also look into taking L-Arginine Amino Acid. It rejouvinates every tissue in the body. I have been taking it for muscle wasting and I am no longer wasting and have started to show signs of muscle development. As I said, this Amino Acid rejouvinates body tissue. The liver is constantly rejouvanating and can function with only a small portion of it working and if it can be helped to rejouvinate I can't see why its function can't be improved. Arginine induces/stimulates growth and IGF-1 hormone. It is best taken in oral powder form, always on an empty stomach, three times a day, one level teaspoon.I am so impressed with L-Arginine I am going to make a webpage dedicated to it as it has been a literal life saver for me and how it can help benefit so many life threatening conditions.Agape,searchingsam

We are going throught this same thing with my husbands mother. Yes you can live a year. Only if your brother has no other heaith problems. If he has normal kidney function. I am surprised he is not in a hospital where he would be seen by a liver transplant doctor on a daily bases. I would try very hard to get him out of a nursing home. They use nursing homes sorry to say if they think they can not help him any more. Always always get a second or thrid opion. Do not give in to leaving him in a nursing home. Your brother is to young. I would rent a RV so he can sleep. and drive him to the Mayo clinic in New York state. You have nothing to loose. Good luck.

Hello, I am just trying to find some information on how long a person can live with last stages of liver failure,my brother who is only 41 years old had to be put into a nursing home due to liver failure,some days he seems to being doing better and other days he just wants to sleep,he has been in nursing home for 3 weeks now and I just would like a little information from someone that has been through this before,is there any chance that he can live for a year or so without a transplant? Or are just talking about a few months? Any insight would really help me out...thanks for your time!Sandythe guy from beyondhealth.com almost died of liver failure. He gave himself extra doses of all natural toxin free vitamin C and he did not die. He has researched on that. He is very unorthodox but you might want to check it out.

i'M VERY SORRY THAT I POSTED ANY LIFE EXPECTANCY, BECAUSE ONLY THE GOD KNOWS OUR ULTIMATE TIME. PERHAPS AND MOST LIKELY YOUR LIVER DISEASE IS MUCH DIFFERENT. BUT I LOST MY DEAR HUSBAND ON JAN. 28TH, 2007 FROM THE DISEASE SO THE DOCTORS AND NURSES WHO TOLD ME MUST HAVE KNOWN CLOSELY WHAT THEY WERE SAYING, BY ALL MEANS GET TO DOCTOR AND SEEK A LIVER TRANSPLANT IF YOU NEED ONE...MY HUSBAND WASN'T A CANIDATE FOR ONE HOWEVER....THE DAY I POSTED SEVERAL WEEKS AGO I WAS SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS BUT IT SEEMS THEY CAME TOO SOON...

Hello all! I am so new to this that I have no answers just a bunch of questions and what ifs. My husband has Hep C 3a. What does the 3a mean? This number we are being told will determin if he will be able to get treatment for it while being qualified to be placed on the liver transplant list? I'm scared and feel like, well I have no idea how I feel. We have been on a roller coaster since Oct when all of this came out. I am so glad I found this site.

i'M VERY SORRY THAT I POSTED ANY LIFE EXPECTANCY, BECAUSE ONLY THE GOD KNOWS OUR ULTIMATE TIME. PERHAPS AND MOST LIKELY YOUR LIVER DISEASE IS MUCH DIFFERENT. BUT I LOST MY DEAR HUSBAND ON JAN. 28TH, 2007 FROM THE DISEASE SO THE DOCTORS AND NURSES WHO TOLD ME MUST HAVE KNOWN CLOSELY WHAT THEY WERE SAYING, BY ALL MEANS GET TO DOCTOR AND SEEK A LIVER TRANSPLANT IF YOU NEED ONE...MY HUSBAND WASN'T A CANIDATE FOR ONE HOWEVER....THE DAY I POSTED SEVERAL WEEKS AGO I WAS SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS BUT IT SEEMS THEY CAME TOO SOON... What was the reason he did not qualify for the transplant?

I don't think your cirrhosis reversed if you still have to take diuretics, maintain low sodium, etc. Your liver can stabilize and scarring slow/stop if you remove the insult. But don't follow is "just mere fibrosis." I think you're saying you're having no additonal scarring.

I don't know what preceded your brother's diagnosis of liver failure but I can tell you my story and maybe it'll shed some light and maybe even a little hope on your circumstances. In 1975 I was diagnosed with hepatitis non-A, non-B. It turned out to be hepatitis C but wasn't named "C" until 1989. Other than being kinda tired all the time I lived a fairly normal life. In January of 1998 I had a motorcycle wreck that broke my leg and (unknown to the doctors) ruptured my spleen. I was taken to the hospital that night and the next day they put a pin in my leg. Later that evening my vitals were all screwed up so they opened me up and found the ruptured spleen and removed it. Unfortunately during the spleen removal I contacted staphylococcus aureus and ended up staying in the hospital for three months before they finally got rid of it. The doctors told me when I got back on my feet to go see a gastroenterologist about my hep C. After a couple of visits he performed a liver biopsy, (which by the way is the ONE AND ONLY WAY to tell the condition of the liver. The report came back as CIRHOSIS, stage 4 grade 3. To my knowledge this is considered end stage liver disease (the worst possible is stage 4 grade 4). Well, I wasn't ready to "end stage" anything so I took the Inteferon and Ribavirin treatment. Three shots and 42 pills a week for 48 weeks. Well here it is 9 years after they told me I had end stage liver disease and I'm still kicking. I may not feel like a million dollars but I still get up and get out everyday (so far) and I'm still not ready to "end stage" anything yet. Well I know I haven't answered your question but I do know one thing, ain't nobody going nowhere until God says it's time. If you have questions about living and dying He has all the answers. Good Luck and Keep the Faith!!

Its horrible watching someone you love going through this. My mum was diagnosed with cirrhosis 6 years ago and didnt tell us. She carried on drinking and started to become ill over the last 6 months though we had no idea why. On 2nd Jan 07 she was taken into hospital which was the only reason my brother, sister and I were aware of the situation. Her symptoms are swelling of the legs and stomach and most recently her hands. Mums skin is very yellow and she is very sleepy most of the time with the odd lucid spell. She briuses very easily and has many nosebleeds. Just recently we have noticed slight tremors in her hands also.The doctors were not very forthcoming in the information they were giving us but now we know that she is in end stage liver failure. All they can do is make her comfortable as nothing else seems to be working. They have tried steroids, she is on diuretics but they are not working well. Now they have her on albumen to help keep water in her blood instead of leaking into her body tissues.I cant see her lasting long in this current state and its heartbreaking to see her suffer like this.Does anyone know of a person coming back from this stage or is the end imminent?

my mother passed away last November. She had liver problems for over 30 years. She was 83 when it finally got the best of her. She was a fighter till the very end. Over the years the docs were continually telling her there was no hope. I think in the end my mother could not deal with the stress of having their house burn to the ground last April. That was too much stress for her. Once my mother got to the stage of being in a coma, she never came out of it. Because of my mother's wishes, we disconnected life support of any kind. I wish she had never been put on life support, but my father called an ambulance when he thought she was having problems, and they decided to ignore all the legal documents to decline life support. After we disconnected life support, we brought her home from the hospital because she wanted to be at home - she was only home for a couple hours - she opened her eyes for a few minutes - not sure how much she was aware of, but it seemed like she was looking around and was happy to be in her own bed. 83 is not bad for someone who doctors said she probably would not last 4 years - and that was over 30 years ago. I totally agree with the fact that you cannot count on what a doctor says. Miracles happen every day, and we don't control that. Attitude is 99 percent of the game. I believe everyone is on this earth to accomplish something that only they can do, and no doctor has control over that. Listen to what they say, follow their advice but stay true to your own destiny and listen to your heart. Best wishes to you all...Connie

When you say liver problems -- do you mean cirrhosis? And what was the cause? That was a long time with that potentially. Did she do anything special in terms of vitamins/supplements, medications, etc.? Thanks.

i'M VERY SORRY THAT I POSTED ANY LIFE EXPECTANCY, BECAUSE ONLY THE GOD KNOWS OUR ULTIMATE TIME. PERHAPS AND MOST LIKELY YOUR LIVER DISEASE IS MUCH DIFFERENT. BUT I LOST MY DEAR HUSBAND ON JAN. 28TH, 2007 FROM THE DISEASE SO THE DOCTORS AND NURSES WHO TOLD ME MUST HAVE KNOWN CLOSELY WHAT THEY WERE SAYING, BY ALL MEANS GET TO DOCTOR AND SEEK A LIVER TRANSPLANT IF YOU NEED ONE...MY HUSBAND WASN'T A CANIDATE FOR ONE HOWEVER....THE DAY I POSTED SEVERAL WEEKS AGO I WAS SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS BUT IT SEEMS THEY CAME TOO SOON...MY WIFE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH ''TOTAL AND COMPLETE LIVER FAILURE FROM CIRROHSIS'' IN JUNE 2006. HER LIVER FAILURE WAS SUDDEN AND AFTER 5 DAYS OF HOSPITAL CARE SHE WAS SENT HOME UNDER HOSPICE CARE WITH LESS THAN A MONTH TO LIVE.... SHE WAS NOT A TRANSPLANT CANIDATE.... MY WIFE HAS BEEN AN ALCOHOLIC FOR YEARS, SHE TURNED 50 TODAY. HER ALCOHOL IS BEER WITH FREQUENT BINGES LASTING 24/7 FOR 3 WEEKS OR LONGER. SHE WAS FOUND TO HAVE HEPITITUS C VIRUS IN 2001 AND BEGAN TAKING MEDICATION FOR THAT. SHE WAS CLOSE TO HER 3RD TRY TAKING THE MEDICATION WITH NO SUCCESS WHEN HER LIVER FAILED HER...TODAY SHE IS OUT LOOKING FOR A JOB TO HELP PAY MEDICAL BILLS.AFTER COMING HOME FROM THE HOSPITAL WE CONTINUED WITH LAB WORK WHICH SHOWED LIVER FUNCTION IMPROVEMENT IMMEDIATLY AND HAS CONTINUED SINCE, EVEN SHOWING THE HEPITITUS C VIRUS UNDETECTABLE, SO FAR. WE VIEW THIS AS AN OVERWHELMING SUCCESS AND PRAY THAT WE CAN CONTINUE. WE PRAY THAT ALL OF YOU THAT ARE UNDERGOING MEDICAL TRAGEDIES COME THROUGH WITH THE SAME OVERWHELMING SUCCESS.WITH FAITH THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!LOVE...CLARENCE AND WANDA PAYNE